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Friday, July 9, 2010

Free Agency Update

We're a week into the free agency period and several contracts have already been inked.  Some of my predictions were right, some were wrong, and some are still yet to be determined.

I was right about Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade teaming up in Miami.  However, I did not think LeBron would be joining them.  I guess I underestimated how big of a jerk he is.  Not only did he turn his back on the town and the people he grew up with, but he made a ridiculous spectacle of the whole thing.  I had no idea how self-absorbed, narcissistic, and pompous he is.  I've never had a problem with Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh, but now I just hope that experiment fails miserably.  I hope their egos are too big to coexist on the same team.  I hope karma comes back to bite LeBron.

As far as our own free agents...

When it comes to Boozer, I am actually pleasantly surprised.  All signs indicated that the Front Office intended to keep him around.  And while the ideal situation would have been to work out a sign and trade to bring in a player to fill a need, I'm satisfied with the trade exemption the Jazz received in the transaction.  (That being said, I wish the Jazz would have traded Boozer last summer, or last season before the trade deadline so that we could have gotten a player in return.)  The trade exemption allows the Jazz to make a trade and bring in a player (or players) for salary equal to what Boozer will make in his first year in Chicago (+- $100K).  Without the exemption, the Jazz would have only been able to offer a player part of their Mid-Level exemption -- whatever portion is left after re-signing Matthews.  The trade exemption only benefits us if we use it, so I truly hope the Jazz don't sit on their hands.  There are players we could go after, but we have to act fast.  Both Toronto and Cleveland have significant amounts of cap space now that they've lost Bosh and James.  If we don't act, someone else will.  My prime target would be Al Jefferson.  The T-Wolves just acquired Michael Beasley, and rumor is they are trying to unload Jefferson to relieve salary (since they offered Gay a big fat contract).  Jefferson could thrive in the Jazz's system, and I'd love to see him here.

Sadly, I was also right about Korver.  It was announced today that he'll be joining Carlos Boozer in Chicago. I appreciate everything he did for the Jazz and for the community.  I wish him nothing but the best.

So now we have to wait and see.  My guess is that Portland will make a pitch to Wes Matthews, which the Jazz will match.  I think they'll most likely bring back Fesenko as well, since we'll need a center with Memo hurt.  Besides, I haven't heard any talk about teams being interested in Fes.

I'd love to see the Jazz go all in and make some big moves.  Bring in another scorer, a big, a shooter, etc.  I can only imagine how D-Will is reacting to all of this.  He sees his team getting worse -- losing a productive (sometimes) player in Boozer, and a consistent outside threat that spreads the floor.  He's probably frustrated right now and anxious for management to bring in some help.  I hope they can do it.  At the end of the season, he said that this team keeps doing the exact same thing and expecting different results.  And it's true.  For the most part, the roster hasn't changed over the last 3 seasons, and the Jazz have been eliminated by the Lakers 3 years in a row.  But management has seemed content to just stand pat and hope things get better.  Now that Boozer and Korver are gone, I think this kind of forces their hand.  They HAVE to do something now, or risk losing their franchise player in two years when his contract is up.  I wish Larry was still here.  He had more passion for the Jazz in his little finger than Greg has in his entire being.  I just hope they do something.

1 comment:

Eliza said...

Yes, SOMETHING needs to happen!